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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Devils might have gotten an slight emotional boost from the pre-game video tribute and moment of silence for former coach Pat Burns, who passed away Friday from cancer.

The two-minute video, which was accompanied by Sarah McLachlan's "I will remember you" followed Burns' NHL coaching career from its start in Montreal to it triumphant climax with the 2003 Stanley Cup with the Devils.

“I thought it was tremendous, well-deserved for Pat and his family," said Devils coach John MacLean, who was an assistant under Burns on the 2003 Cup team. "Pat’s accomplished a lot in his career and to win the Cup here was a big thing for him in his career. It was well-deserved tribute."

MacLean said he experienced mix emotions during the video.

“You’re sad, but you smile," MacLean said. "You see his face and the pictures of him on the bench, you can recall the situations that he was clapping and you recall why he was clapping and the different expressions and you recall what happened.”

Left wing Patrik Elias and defenseman Colin White were the only players in uniform tonight who played for Burns with the Devils.

“It was obviously special for the guys that new him personally," Elias said. "It’s a sad thing to have to transpire. You see it all around you and when it’s people you know personally it hits you even more. He will be remembered.”

***Who knew that rookie defenseman Mark Fayne would be the solution to the Devils' scoring problems?

Fayne said he had fun in his first NHL game. He played 21 shifts for 13;57 in ice time and was plus-1 for the night. He had no points, but was solid for the most part playing alongside Andy Greene.

“I wish every game was like that," Fayne said. "Everybody was flying out there.”

Fayne said he was “a little bit” nervous at the start of the game.

“But as soon as you start playing it kind of just went away and you’re able to play," he said.

Fayne took a simple approach.

“Just try to get the puck up to the forwards and let them go work and it worked tonigh,” he said.

MacLean liked what he saw from the 23-year-old.

"Fayne played well," MacLean said. "We threw him right to the wolves there off the bat against Washington. But he kept his game simple. He passes the puck very well for a big guy and did a nice job for us."

Fayne said his parents, sister and some of his friends made it down to see him play in his first NHL game.

What will he remember most?

“Everything," Fayne said. "Just the whole experience with Pat Burns, that tribute was great. And playing at home, playing the Capitals. It was a good night.”

Fayne was the ninth Devils' player to make his NHL debut this season -- their most ever in a single season (8, 1985-86 and 1991-92).

About

TOM GULITTI has covered the New Jersey Devils for The Record since 2002. Prior to that, he covered the New York Rangers for four years. Gulitti joined The Record in 1998 after six years at The North Jersey Herald News. He graduated from Binghamton University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric-Literature.